Digital currency asset manager Grayscale Investments is announcing its plans to convert its Bitcoin (BTC) trust into an exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Grayscale firm has stated that it wants to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which it launched in 2013, into a Bitcoin ETF. According to Grayscale, GBTC’s assets under management are worth close to $40 billion.
The launch of this app comes after the public listing of the first US Bitcoin ETF, the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO).
The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF is a futures ETF that tracks contracts that “speculate” on the future price of Bitcoin as opposed to the current or spot price of Bitcoin. Grayscale is looking to apply for a Bitcoin spot ETF that will track the current price of the crypto asset.
According to Dave LaValle, Global ETF Head of Grayscale Investments, the demand for “physically supported Bitcoin investment vehicles” is huge and strong. The firm believes regulators who are comfortable with futures ETFs should also be comfortable with spot ETFs.
Grayscale applied to convert GBTC to an ETF in 2016, but withdrew the application months later due to concerns that the market was not ready for such a product.
Earlier this year, the digital currency asset manager reiterated his pursuit of a Bitcoin ETF, saying he is “100% committed to converting GBTC into an ETF.”
Grayscale also stated that it is looking to convert other crypto investment products, such as the Grayscale Ethereum Trust, Grayscale Litecoin Trust, and Grayscale Stellar Lumens Trust, into ETFs.